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College Football Realignment

MiamiBuffs said:
I’ll believe it when I see it.

We could get in. But I think ND, FSU, Clemson and a few others are ahead of us or right there with us.

I doubt there is any movement until the next round of rights deals comes up. We may not have Sanders anymore by then.

TV might also realize what the right numbers and combinations are to make streaming work. Or not.

I kind of expect Tv to start pushing for a culling of the Indianas and Vanderbilts out of the conferences. The conferences eventually agree to it because dividing $100m by 12 instead of 14/16/18 means more money per school. Or the Big Fish schools threaten to leave for the Super Conference or actually do.
Click to expand...
ND, N Carolina, Virginia, FSU, Clemson, Miami are for sure ahead of Colorado.
I fear Ga Tech, Stanford and possibly Duke are as well.
If the Big10 or SEC ever look out west, CU will compete with Utah, ASU, Kansas, Texas Tech, TCU and BYU
for a couple spots.
 
MiamiBuffs said:
I’ll believe it when I see it.

We could get in. But I think ND, FSU, Clemson and a few others are ahead of us or right there with us.

I doubt there is any movement until the next round of rights deals comes up. We may not have Sanders anymore by then.

TV might also realize what the right numbers and combinations are to make streaming work. Or not.

I kind of expect Tv to start pushing for a culling of the Indianas and Vanderbilts out of the conferences. The conferences eventually agree to it because dividing $100m by 12 instead of 14/16/18 means more money per school. Or the Big Fish schools threaten to leave for the Super Conference or actually do.
Click to expand...
When people get too focused on last years record or who the coach is or short term things, it gets abstract

Colorado is a state of 6 Million People
The 18th rated DMA
A pro sports town and state
Colorado has a good history, Natty, 2 Heisman’s
Brand recognition
Unique stadium
Solid Research and AAU status
Unique Mountain Time Zone location
World Class Airport

We are by all measures even a top 25 program for what the networks want

Ole Miss, Miss State, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Maryland, and even the Iowa’s or others do not have what we have besides being lucky enough to be in the B1G or SEC.

RG feels ready by all means necessary to be the best candidate for a 48-team 2-Conference structure

Expand and remodel Stadium
Win games
Stay a hip cool brand
 
www.espn.com

Louisiana Tech returns to Sun Belt, sources say

The Sun Belt's CEOs voted to invite Louisiana Tech as the league's 14th member Monday morning, sources told ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Louisiana Tech's entry date into the conference isn't certain; the earliest is 2026. The entry date is expected to be figured out over the next few weeks as Louisiana Tech works out its departure from Conference USA, which is expected to cost at least $5 million.

It marks a return to the Sun Belt for Louisiana Tech, which was part of the league from 1991-2001 before departing for the WAC.
Click to expand...
 
4BienemyTDs said:
When people get too focused on last years record or who the coach is or short term things, it gets abstract

Colorado is a state of 6 Million People
The 18th rated DMA
A pro sports town and state
Colorado has a good history, Natty, 2 Heisman’s
Brand recognition
Unique stadium
Solid Research and AAU status
Unique Mountain Time Zone location
World Class Airport

We are by all measures even a top 25 program for what the networks want

Ole Miss, Miss State, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Maryland, and even the Iowa’s or others do not have what we have besides being lucky enough to be in the B1G or SEC.

RG feels ready by all means necessary to be the best candidate for a 48-team 2-Conference structure

Expand and remodel Stadium
Win games
Stay a hip cool brand
Click to expand...
You left off Flatirons.
 
Big 12 will be adding Memphis along with USF, Tulane and UConn. It's going to happen after certain schools leave in the next round of realignment. Probably a merger of the Big 12 & ACC leftovers and will be a good football conference with elite basketball.
 
Buffnik said:
Big 12 will be adding Memphis along with USF, Tulane and UConn. It's going to happen after certain schools leave in the next round of realignment. Probably a merger of the Big 12 & ACC leftovers and will be a good football conference with elite basketball.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about after a Super-League (i.e. next round of realignment) is formed/announced with the B1G and SEC taking certain teams from the B-12/ACC, then maybe dropping off a few of their lower tier members? Or are you saying the current plan is for the B12 just to go to 16 teams. If now, I would see this as a major headache in terms of non-football sport's travel, but it would be a great basketball conference.
 
GRM said:
Are you talking about after a Super-League (i.e. next round of realignment) is formed/announced with the B1G and SEC taking certain teams from the B-12/ACC, then maybe dropping off a few of their lower tier members? Or are you saying the current plan is for the B12 just to go to 16 teams. If now, I would see this as a major headache in terms of non-football sport's travel, but it would be a great basketball conference.
Click to expand...
I think the Big 12 is on hold for now.

Unless something happens with the ACC and some combo of FSU, Clemson, UNC, Miami, UVA, GT announcing a move to the SEC, I expect 3-5 years of stability.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GRM
Buffnik said:
I think the Big 12 is on hold for now.

Unless something happens with the ACC and some combo of FSU, Clemson, UNC, Miami, UVA, GT announcing a move to the SEC, I expect 3-5 years of stability.
Click to expand...
Yormark acted quickly when UT and OU bailed for the SEC by scooping up Cincy, Houston, UCF and BYU. He then acted quickly and took the ESPN/FOX media deal before the Pac 12 could. I think he’s going to try to make another forward looking move to solidify the Big 12, while weakening the ACC, which is why he’s not interested in taking a $250m payday by adding Memphis.

I think he’s going to swing at FSU, Miami, Clemson, UNC and maybe Stanford and Cal (unless they think they’re too good for the B12). Would bring in premium brands and puts them in CA so they have a true coast to coast conference with solid inventory for any time slot.
 
The Alabaster Yak said:
Yormark acted quickly when UT and OU bailed for the SEC by scooping up Cincy, Houston, UCF and BYU. He then acted quickly and took the ESPN/FOX media deal before the Pac 12 could. I think he’s going to try to make another forward looking move to solidify the Big 12, while weakening the ACC, which is why he’s not interested in taking a $250m payday by adding Memphis.

I think he’s going to swing at FSU, Miami, Clemson, UNC and maybe Stanford and Cal (unless they think they’re too good for the B12). Would bring in premium brands and puts them in CA so they have a true coast to coast conference with solid inventory for any time slot.
Click to expand...
I think he has no power anymore heading into the next re-alignment, and I think many schools are tired of having conferences and commissioners lead them around. RG and Prime can make their own decisions and MUST do what is needed to keep CU aiming for the top, especially in revenue. I would buy into the B1G if it was possible in a few years
 
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Reactions: GRM
InTheBuff said:
www.nytimes.com

College football program valuations: Ranking every Power 4 team by how much they’d sell for

College football programs may not be for sale, but what if they were? Here's our best guess at how much the Power 4 would sell for.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Buffs come in at the 47th spot.
Would any evaluation like this get them into a top 48 school super league?
Click to expand...
I need to dig into this, but they're not considering all the variables that go into realignment.

Virginia valued below CU and VT strikes me as completely wrong.
 
InTheBuff said:
www.nytimes.com

College football program valuations: Ranking every Power 4 team by how much they’d sell for

College football programs may not be for sale, but what if they were? Here's our best guess at how much the Power 4 would sell for.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Buffs come in at the 47th spot.
Would any evaluation like this get them into a top 48 school super league?
Click to expand...
This is purely a valuation of revenue multiples, but misses on Infrastructure, Brand Value, and other key things.
If we had to Build a brand new Folsom Field, that would be at least $500 Million, and we spent $154 Million on the Champions Center. If you take a look at the MLS Valuations, it tells me that the likely value of the Colorado Football Program could be closer to $1 Billion. MLS Teams only get $8.6 Million per year / per team, and yet there are teams worth over $1B, and even the Rapids are worth $415 Million with Dicks Park.

www.forbes.com

Forbes MLS Team Valuations 2025 List — Major League Soccer Ranking

Forbes showcases Major League Soccer's most valuable teams, including LAFC, the reigning champion LA Galaxy and Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
 
MiamiBuffs said:
I’ll believe it when I see it.

We could get in. But I think ND, FSU, Clemson and a few others are ahead of us or right there with us.

I doubt there is any movement until the next round of rights deals comes up. We may not have Sanders anymore by then.

TV might also realize what the right numbers and combinations are to make streaming work. Or not.

I kind of expect Tv to start pushing for a culling of the Indianas and Vanderbilts out of the conferences. The conferences eventually agree to it because dividing $100m by 12 instead of 14/16/18 means more money per school. Or the Big Fish schools threaten to leave for the Super Conference or actually do.
Click to expand...
I agree with this-I can't see ESPN being thrilled about teams like Indiana last year in the playoff on a regular basis. ****ty OOC, and they basically missed every Big 10 team worth a damn but tOSU.

@hokiehead Completely disagree with what you say about CU compared to both Virginia schools. Like it or not-we're a brand. I think we're still one of the 25 winningest programs in the history of the sport-even with being below average to flat bad for the better part of two decades. Add Prime to that mix. The man is a brand by himself. We're fine as long as he's here-and I think that's probably until his health gets in the way. I think he's doing what he can to set us up for life after him. Rob Livingston did a hell of a job last year, and if that unit keeps improving........I'd make sure he's one of the top 10 paid coordinators in the sport if I'm RG.

I do not understand why Virginia can't put out better football and basketball teams. They've been an afterthought in football for the most part my entire life. I know Mendenhall had a bit of success there....but still. Tony Elliott looks like a swing and a miss type hire. They were bad in basketball until Tony Bennett took that gig VT feels a bit like Nebraska 20 years ago did. Beamer was a hall of famer. Justin Fuente suddenly isn't looking that bad-he won 10, 9, and 8 games in three of his first four years and I think made the ACC championship game. Did the fanbase get a little greedy in demanding his firing?
 
Last edited:
hokiehead said:
I need to dig into this, but they're not considering all the variables that go into realignment.

Virginia valued below CU and VT strikes me as completely wrong.
Click to expand...

I agree. VT has higher enrollment but not nearly the endowment of VA.

I think where they screwed up CU's ranking is underestimating Denver as the 18th largest media market. The fact CU is the flagship university in the State. The size of our stadium. Our enrollment of 41K students which translates into more Alums/Fans etc... Also, this could be due to the current monopoly on TV rights and/or the lack of a whale (i.e. Phil Knight) propping up football.

I don't have a problem with most of the SEC rankings as their football stadiums are so huge and football is king in the SE. Same with FSU, Miami, UNC, Clemson and a few others. I don't have a problem with the Fuskers (24K enrollment) given the size of their stadium and fills it up. However, when you look at some of CU's peers, when a franchise is valued it must take into account the school size/prestige, facilities owned, town, and actual TV market, rather than a shared TV market or recent football success or lack thereof:

The ones, I have problems with are sort of small market/split market:

1. Iowa 30K enrollment, splits with Iowa State 30K enrollment?
2. NW 23K enrollment and 12K person stadium, they do have a good endowment, very little success in football or fan base.
3. Baylor, TCU and Okie State all have enrollments less than 25K, TCU only 13K. Okie State has T-Boone Pickens $$ but still little brother to OU.
4. Kansas 28K enrollment and K-State 20K enrollment should not be ranked anywhere near CU given splitting the state, school size, overall success in football etc...
5. Utah and BYU split Salt Lake City, however BYU should be higher since it has larger audience and Utah flip somewhere below CU.
6. Duke, Wake Forest and Vandy all have enrollments under 20K and split their TV markets with smaller stadiums.
7. Syracuse, Louisville, Boston College, SMU are all much smaller schools, some have stadiums but they split their TV markets...
8. ASU should be much higher--87K enrollment alone.
9. Stanford and Cal take it on the chin given their conference affiliation, travel and less TV revenue, however Stanford has a $37B endowment, thus probably top-30! I can see Cal being low since AD has huge budget deficit. Travel is difficult, Stanford has high academic standards, so if they want a great football team, I think that they have the funds/alums to pay for it. They may need to take more transfers and alter academic standards somewhat. IMO, Stanford could dominate the NoCAL TV market, rather than split with Cal. Cal's AD is swimming in the red.
10. UCLA splits LA with USC, however UCLA's AD has a massive funding shortfall as they rent not own all their facilities, thus making no money. Not even a good deal on parking or concessions. How do you value UCLA owning no facilities? Both of those teams left the P-12 to implode since they could not come anywhere close to filling their stadiums. I can see USC given its rich football history and they have a great deal for the Coliseum. We shall see how these CA schools do with the travel.

I think this poll is heavy skewed toward recent football success and some B1G bias, the current TV rights, rather than what the school's actually have.
 
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GRM said:
I agree. VT has higher enrollment but not nearly the endowment of VA.

I think where they screwed up CU's ranking is underestimating Denver as the 18th largest media market. The fact CU is the flagship university in the State. The size of our stadium. Our enrollment of 41K students which translates into more Alums/Fans etc... Also, this could be due to the current monopoly on TV rights and/or the lack of a whale (i.e. Phil Knight) propping up football.

I don't have a problem with most of the SEC rankings as their football stadiums are so huge and football is king in the SE. Same with FSU, Miami, UNC, Clemson and a few others. I don't have a problem with the Fuskers (24K enrollment) given the size of their stadium and fills it up. However, when you look at some of CU's peers, when a franchise is valued it must take into account the school size/prestige, facilities owned, town, and actual TV market, rather than a shared TV market or recent football success or lack thereof:

The ones, I have problems with are sort of small market/split market:

1. Iowa 30K enrollment, splits with Iowa State 30K enrollment?
2. NW 23K enrollment and 12K person stadium, they do have a good endowment, very little success in football or fan base.
3. Baylor, TCU and Okie State all have enrollments less than 25K, TCU only 13K. Okie State has T-Boone Pickens $$ but still little brother to OU.
4. Kansas 28K enrollment and K-State 20K enrollment should not be ranked anywhere near CU given splitting the state, school size, overall success in football etc...
5. Utah and BYU split Salt Lake City, however BYU should be higher since it has larger audience and Utah flip somewhere below CU.
6. Duke, Wake Forest and Vandy all have enrollments under 20K and split their TV markets with smaller stadiums.
7. Syracuse, Louisville, Boston College, SMU are all much smaller schools, some have stadiums but they split their TV markets...
8. ASU should be much higher--87K enrollment alone.
9. Stanford and Cal take it on the chin given their conference affiliation, travel and less TV revenue, however Stanford has a $37B endowment, thus probably top-30! I can see Cal being low since AD has huge budget deficit.
10. UCLA splits LA with USC, however UCLA's AD has a massive funding shortfall as they rent not own all their facilities thus making no money. How do you value UCLA owning no facilities? Both of those teams left the P-12 to implode since they could not come anywhere close to filling their stadiums. I can see USC given its rich football history. We shall see how these CA schools do with the travel.

I think this poll is heavy skewed toward recent football success and some B1G bias, the current TV rights, rather than what the school's actually have.
Click to expand...
Recent football revenue, to be more specific

The conundrum is the WMA market. Is there a school that can dominate that? I really don't know.
 
hokiehead said:
How so?
Click to expand...
IIRC:
  • SMU took zero money (for a period of time)
  • OU, UW, Cal, and Stanford took reduced money (for a period of time)

Memphis offered to pay $250M to join the B12, who said no

B1G and the ACC had way more leverage in the moment that they realized.
 
4BienemyTDs said:
This is purely a valuation of revenue multiples, but misses on Infrastructure, Brand Value, and other key things.
If we had to Build a brand new Folsom Field, that would be at least $500 Million, and we spent $154 Million on the Champions Center. If you take a look at the MLS Valuations, it tells me that the likely value of the Colorado Football Program could be closer to $1 Billion. MLS Teams only get $8.6 Million per year / per team, and yet there are teams worth over $1B, and even the Rapids are worth $415 Million with Dicks Park.

www.forbes.com

Forbes MLS Team Valuations 2025 List — Major League Soccer Ranking

Forbes showcases Major League Soccer's most valuable teams, including LAFC, the reigning champion LA Galaxy and Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.
www.forbes.com www.forbes.com
Click to expand...

MLS teams CAN get more than $8.6 million per year. There are a few exceptions they can utilize

I’m dumb, I was thinking you were talking about salary cap (which is close to the same number)
 
Last edited:
Highlander said:
IIRC:
  • SMU took zero money (for a period of time)
  • OU, UW, Cal, and Stanford took reduced money (for a period of time)

Memphis offered to pay $250M to join the B12, who said no

B1G and the ACC had way more leverage in the moment that they realized.
Click to expand...
Not only did SMU not take any revenue for 9 years, their boosters paid $200m to the ACC.

I think both the B1G and ACC put themselves in better positions with the additions you called out.
 
GRM said:
I agree. VT has higher enrollment but not nearly the endowment of VA.

I think where they screwed up CU's ranking is underestimating Denver as the 18th largest media market. The fact CU is the flagship university in the State. The size of our stadium. Our enrollment of 41K students which translates into more Alums/Fans etc... Also, this could be due to the current monopoly on TV rights and/or the lack of a whale (i.e. Phil Knight) propping up football.

I don't have a problem with most of the SEC rankings as their football stadiums are so huge and football is king in the SE. Same with FSU, Miami, UNC, Clemson and a few others. I don't have a problem with the Fuskers (24K enrollment) given the size of their stadium and fills it up. However, when you look at some of CU's peers, when a franchise is valued it must take into account the school size/prestige, facilities owned, town, and actual TV market, rather than a shared TV market or recent football success or lack thereof:

The ones, I have problems with are sort of small market/split market:

1. Iowa 30K enrollment, splits with Iowa State 30K enrollment?
2. NW 23K enrollment and 12K person stadium, they do have a good endowment, very little success in football or fan base.
3. Baylor, TCU and Okie State all have enrollments less than 25K, TCU only 13K. Okie State has T-Boone Pickens $$ but still little brother to OU.
4. Kansas 28K enrollment and K-State 20K enrollment should not be ranked anywhere near CU given splitting the state, school size, overall success in football etc...
5. Utah and BYU split Salt Lake City, however BYU should be higher since it has larger audience and Utah flip somewhere below CU.
6. Duke, Wake Forest and Vandy all have enrollments under 20K and split their TV markets with smaller stadiums.
7. Syracuse, Louisville, Boston College, SMU are all much smaller schools, some have stadiums but they split their TV markets...
8. ASU should be much higher--87K enrollment alone.
9. Stanford and Cal take it on the chin given their conference affiliation, travel and less TV revenue, however Stanford has a $37B endowment, thus probably top-30! I can see Cal being low since AD has huge budget deficit.
10. UCLA splits LA with USC, however UCLA's AD has a massive funding shortfall as they rent not own all their facilities thus making no money. How do you value UCLA owning no facilities? Both of those teams left the P-12 to implode since they could not come anywhere close to filling their stadiums. I can see USC given its rich football history. We shall see how these CA schools do with the travel.

I think this poll is heavy skewed toward recent football success and some B1G bias, the current TV rights, rather than what the school's actually have.
Click to expand...
I didn't realize Iowa's enrollment was that low.
 
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